What's to be done at the 341 meeting

How do you effectively represent a client at the 341 meeting?

It’s simple: prepare the trustee and your client for the meeting, then do your best imitation of a “potted plant.” at the hearing. Well prepared, you have little to do but make your appearance, listen closely to the q and a, and thank the trustee at the conclusion.

Prepare the trustee

In this era of Zoom appearances at 341 meetings, the trustee needs to establish the debtor’s identity. That’s done by tendering copies of the debtor’s picture ID and proof of their full Social Security number on a document generated by a third party, not the debtor, in advance of the meeting. No ID, no meeting.

For debtors that don’t have Social Security numbers, often a declaration from the debtor to that effect is sufficient.

Typically, the trustee wants copies of tax returns, bank statements and paystubs in every case. After review of the schedules, there may be additional requests for support for asset values, forms of title, or business records.

Many trustees have a secure portal through which these documents are to be submitted. The trustee can provide details about how to access that portal and the format the trustee prefers.

Make sure to provide the documents sufficiently in advance of the scheduled meeting so the trustee can review them in advance. Failure to timely supply the requested documents often results in a continued 341 meeting, not to mention loss of face with trustee and the client.

Prepare the client

More challenging is preparing the client for the 341: Often, the debtor imagines an searing interrogation that will determine whether they get a discharge. Your task is to dial back those terror-inducing expectations with facts and assurances.

Put the meeting in context by pointing out

The amount of time allocated to the calendar as a whole & the number of cases involved
The purpose and requirements of the meeting
The UST’s list of proposed questions
The online videos of mock 341 meetings

I have a blog post for clients with my 4 “rules” for testifying at the meeting

Listen to the question
Answer truthfully
Be brief
Don’t guess if you don’t know the answer (unlikely)

To which I add: if I start talking, you stop talking.

Since these client concerns come up in virtually every case, here’s an opportunity to use a handout, blog post, or video with your explanation of what’s likely to occur at the 341 to quiet client worries.

Your role when the scope expands

When a meeting departs from the routine, your role expands. Sometimes, the trustee needs either further context for information in the schedules or supporting documents. Sometimes, the trustee has information about assets or activities the client neglected to tell you about. At the simplest, you can undertake to amend the schedules as appropriate or supply the needed documents.

When it appears that you’re dealing with more than a simple oversight, consider asking for a continuance to confer with your client and gather facts.

The other less frequent departure from the norm is the presence of an angry or contentious creditor. I see my role in such circumstances as insuring that any creditor questions are limited to those about the assets, liabilities and finances of the debtor. When questioning goes off topic or becomes abusive or disruptive, I’m prepared to object to the question as there is no one present at a 341 meeting to rule on my objection. The trustee’s usual instruction to the creditor is to move to his next question.

Another approach is to instruct the debtor not to answer. Those tactics may entitle the questioner to seek a Rule 2004 exam, but my experience is that the animus that fueled the question dissipates when the party leaves the meeting.

Score client points at the conclusion

The usual client is enormously relieved to have the 341 meeting behind them. Assuming it went as expected, let them know they did well or that the trustee was satisfied.

Here’s the point to tell them what (little) remains to be done in the case: filing the debtor education certificate and waiting out the 60 day period in which objections to discharge or dischargeability can be filed. Prepare them for two months in which nothing happens and that’s just as it should be.